Complex History Between Iran And Al-Qaida
Canadian authorities claim al-Qaida operatives in Iran directed a failed plot to attack a passenger train. Iran denies it has any links to the two suspects. What falls in between is Iran's complicated history with the terror group that has included outright hostility, alliances of convenience and even overtures by Tehran to assist Washington after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Q: Are Iran and al-Qaida allies?
A: Relations have always been rocky. Iran has been at odds with al-Qaida on many fronts. A fundamental divide is over the two main branches of Islam. Iran is mostly Shiite. Al-Qaida is nearly exclusively Sunni-led. Some hard-line militants backing al-Qaida consider Shiite Muslims as heretics and view Tehran's regional ambitions as a greater threat than the West. Sunni insurgents in Iraq, for example, have used car bombs and suicide attacks against Shiite targets, killing thousands since 2003. In January 2011, the al-Qaida faction in Yemen declared "holy war" against Shiite rebels that are believed supported from Tehran. Iran also has been incensed by al-Qaida backing for Syrian rebels seeking to overthrow the regime of Bashar Assad, one of Tehran's main allies in the region. Before the 9/11 attacks, Iran was even more outspoken than Western countries against the Taliban, which sheltered Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders. In 1998, eight Iranian diplomats were killed when Taliban forces overran Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan and were accused of the systematic slayings of Shiites. The rights group Amnesty International said Taliban fighters stormed the Iranian consulate as part of its anti-Shiite purges. A June 2009 al-Qaida memo - possibly to bin Laden - refers to the Iranian government as "criminals" and bashed its opaque and unpredictable policies. The document was among files seized in the May 2011 raid that killed bin Laden and was posted online last year by the U.S. Army's Combating Terrorism Center.
Q: How did al-Qaida figures end up in Iran?
A: After the U.S.-led attacks against the Taliban in late 2001, scores of al-Qaida foot soldiers, leaders and some of bin Laden's relatives fled over the border into Iran. Iran put many under house arrest-style detention, but refused to send them to U.S. allies, such as Saudi Arabia, where they could face extradition or interrogations by American forces. Tehran's leadership believed that holding bin Laden relatives and al-Qaida officials could offer a guarantee against anti-Shiite attacks. It also was seen as an unexpected bargaining chip with the West for Tehran's leadership, which rejoiced in the Taliban's downfall but was fearful of U.S.-led forces next door.
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